Dating attachment for wrapping machines



June 23, 1931. M. H, KERN DATING ATTACHMENT FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed maw 14, 1930 2f. gx?

gpm W ATTORNEY.

Patented June 23, 1931 UNITED isrAT-Es PATENT OFFICE MAXIMILIAN H. KERN, OF RICHMOND HILL, NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERTS NUMBERING MACHINE COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK DATING ATTACHMENT FOR TRAPIING MACHINES Application filed May 14, 1930. Serial No. 452,201.

My invention relates to a dating attachment for wrapping machines and moreparticularly to a mechanism adapted to be applied adjacent the feed shelf of such a mal chine for impressing identifying marks upon I 'eadjustment as to the height, of the stack of sheets upon the feed shelf of the machine, and to meet this condition, I so construct the attachment that in its functioning, it will automatically adjust itself to such changing conditions. I. furthermore provide means whereby the support for the type-carrying head may be adjusted toward and from the feed shelf so as to bring the parts to a position where a proper impression will be made at any point within the range of variation of the height of the stack of sheets upon thel feed shelf.

The actuating means operating upon the type-carrying head is so constructed as to not only permit the automatic adjustment of y these members in the manner above referred to, to compensate for the varying heighto'f the stack of sheets upon the feed shelf, but tovalso ensure the making of the impression by a staccato blow and under yieldable pressure. f

In mounting the dating attachment of my invention upon the wrapping machine, it is essential that it be so adjusted as to meet the various conditions found in the machine. Furthermore, it is essential that, notwithstanding the structural limitations imposed by the Wrapping machine mechanisms, the dating` attachment be. so constructed as to permit the control of the location of the data applied thereby in 4relation tothe sheet, thus enabling an inspector to expose this data at any time without complete destruction of the package.

In order to ensure a legible imprint and at the same time avoid the necessity for the employment of an inking mechanism in the attachment, I employ an ordinary typewriter ribbon having an automatic feeding attachment operative upon the spools thereof, and an automatic reversing mechanism. The use of the ink ribbon not only ensures a sub- ,3

stantial, uniform, clean imprint, but permits the operation of the dating attachment at the speed of the wrapping machine. The automatic ribbon shift mechanism is actuated in part by a device controlled by the diameter of the roll of ribbon uponeither spool and in part the actuation of the type-carrying head of the dating attachment.

In addition to the characters above enumerated, I provide a special construction of ribbon mount which will facilitate a changing of the ribbon spools when required.

'If he invention consists primarily. in a dating attachment for wrappingmachines emboc ying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a. head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing charac-ters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank mem-ber carrie-d by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder', and connections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever; and such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed out inthe claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

v Fig. 1 is a side View of a dating attachment embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view thereof on line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view of the reciprocatory head, broken away to disclose details of the ribbon feed and ribbon shift mechanism;

Fig. I is a detail view of the construction Inn by which the ribbon spools are mounted upon the head.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. Y

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown an embodiment of lthe invention as applied to a. wrapping machine, showing merely suchparts of said machine as `are incidental to the actuation'of the dating attachment. In* the drawings, indicates a cross bar above the feed shelf of the wrapping machine, and 11 a rock shaft controlling certain mechanisms of the sheet feeder.

Secured to the bar 10 by means of a clamp mechanism 12 is a support 13 whichsupport is connected with said'clamp mechanism by means of a spacer rod 14.

The support 13 has ay vertically extended bearing therein, in which is slidably mounted a. rod 15 having 'a head 16 at the lower end thereof, in which is mounted a plurality of digit wheels 17 projecting from the bottom of this. head. I employ digit wheels of the character commonly used in ordinary numberingheads, acted upon by detent pawls 18 to permit any desired setting Vor changeI of setting of the printing'characters toV permit the useof different codes at different times. In the drawings, three such Wheels are shown, butthe number of wheels employed is largely a matter of choice. f

krIhe head 14 is extendedy upon opposite sides of the axis of said digit wheels 17 and is provided with suitable mounts which will be more fullyvdescribred hereinafter, for ribbonspool carriers 19 and 20, the bottom of the head being provided with a faceplate 21 to direct a ribbon from a spool on one of saidA Carriers across the face of the digit wheels tothe other spool carrier. The vribbon'is shown at 22.

The laterally extended portion of the head is shown as cross bars 23 positioned upon opposite' faces upon the head. Y

Carried bythe -rod 15 is an impact stud 24 by` means of which power for actuating the head is applied thereto by a. bell crank lever 25 one arm of which is forked as shown at 26 and 27 and the other arm of which is connected by a link 28 with yoked fitting 29 mounted upon a. bearing pin 30 secured to a crank 31 upon the shaft 11.

To compensate for the varying stroke required of the head Y16 with a. change 1n the n eight of the stackv of sheets upon the feed Y shelf, which stack is indicated at 32, I projustability of the block 33 also permits of the adjustment of the quantityof movement of the head thus controlling the lforce of the blow by the printing character upon the uppermost sheet of paper in the stack 32 upon the actuation on-the attachment; Thisadjust-ment supplements other adjustments in lsecuring accuracy in the timing of the making j of the imprint and the quality of such 1mprint. i

The rod 15 is provided with an enlarged head 36 one end of which is slidably mounted upon a guide rod 37. Secured to the support 13 and acting upon this enlarged head 36 is a low tensionvexpansion spring 38, the function of which is to normally impart downward movement of the rod 15 and the head 16 carried thereby.

As a further means of adjustment for controlling the timing of the impact of the printing mechanism with a sheet upon the stack 32, I connect-'thc rod 14 with the support 13 by means ofa screw thread 39 upon said rod and eccentrically thereof. The turning of the rod 14 will raise or lower the support 13 yin its Ventirety andthis adjustment may be fairly accurate. I employ a lo'ck nut 40 for holding any adjustment ofthe support 13 made by means ofthe screwthreads 39 upon the rod'14. y i, Each carrier19'and 2O for a spoolyof rib bon, comprises ratchet wheel having a hollow shaft 4 through which ascrew 42 passes. i

The end of oneof the cross bars 23 has a slotted Yportion'43 to receive th-e screw 42, the inner end of this-slottedportion being enlarged to accommodate an enlarged por-y tion of the-',screw. 'The vendof the screw cooperates'with screw threads in the other cross bar 23. Thisconstructionis for the purpose of-preventing possible' escape of a ribbon spool and its' carrier from :the head'16 and 'to permit the convenient removal of the carrier and thespool for replacement of the latter, even though the head may be located at a point which is notreadily accessible. Each carrier 19 and 20 is provided with a pin 44 to cause the ratchet and the spool to turn in unison during the feeding movement of the ribbon.v Y This mechanism is lduplicated at opposite ends of the cross bars 23, the teeth upon the ratchet wheels 19 and 2() being oppositely set. f

Carried by the support 13 are two push pawls and 46 each having a heel as 47 or 48. Also mounted upon the support 13 is a rocking plate 5.6` the opposite ends of: which are adapted to engage alternatively, theheels 4'? and 48. Carried byy the yplate 50 and SeX- tending through'openings therein is a fric-- tion device 51 which by engagement with the support 13 will normally prevent the spring 49 acting upon either Vheel V47 and 48 from imparting*movement to this plate.

The plate 50 carries two studs 52 and 53 by means ot which the plate may be moved to cause one pawl 1-5 or 46 to be positioned in the operative relation to its ratchet wheel forming part of the carrier 19 or 20. Mounted upon studs carried by one of the cross bars 23 'are two pivotal thrust members 54 and 55, the hubs o1" which resp-eetively 'carry a plate 5G or 57 projecting` beneath the ratchet wheels 19 and 20-y respectively so as to be engaged by a ribbon upon a studs is oscillated as a result of the action oi the wound ribbon thereon, it will be moved toa position where upon the succeeding actuation ot" the attachment it will engage the stud 52 or 53 with which it cooperates and by impart-ing oscillatory movement to the plate 50, move one of the'pawls 4-5 or l5 out of its engaging relation to the ratchet wheel with which it cooperates, and the other pawl into the operative relation to the other ratchet with which it cooperates.

'Since the movement of the ribbon resulting in the 'actuation of the reversing mechanism occurs only when the head `16 is approaching its uppermost position, it is obvious that a thrust member When oscillated will first pass in back ot a stud 52 or 58. To meet this condition, I Vmake the thrust Imembers of light spring metal so that with the descent of the head carrying same, the member will ride over its cooperating stud but remain in a j position to engage it upon the next upward movement of the head.

To prevent overrunning of either carrier 19 or 20, I provide one of the cross bars 23 with a spring-retard device 59 acting upon the side of ribbonspool mounted upon the y carrier.

The attachment shown in the drawings is ymade as a separate article oi manufacture to be used upon existing machines. TWhen so made it is desirable to so constructthe attachment that it may be adjusted in relation to its supports in a. manner to make the impression, with a. reasonable range of variation, within any desired portion oi. the sheet of paper. It is obvious that the clamp 12 may be adjusted laterally of its supporting b ar 1() for placing the imprint at al desired point laterally of the sheet. The use of' a clamp constructed as shown, however, also permits the supporting rod 14 to be moved backy and forth in relation to the front edge ofv the sheet. The usel of the block 3S permits the lengthening or shortening of the link 28 between it and the bell crank lever25 to accommodate the working conditions of the attachment to any change oi its position accomplished through the adjustment of the rod 14. The crank 31 may be adjusted longitudinally of the shaft 11 to permit ot' adjustment oie the attachment, as a. whole, along the rod 10. rlhese adjustments last referred to, however, are used solely when installing the attachment upon a machine, since when the attachment is once in position it is seldom necessary to change its setting with relation to the stack of paper. This is also true of the eccentric setting screw 39 and the block 33.

The operation ot the herein described attachment is substantially as follows:

in mounting the attachment upon the vrapping machine in connection with which it is to be used, the clamp 12 and the crank 31. ar, adjusted along` the rod 10 and the shaft 11 until the support 18 is so positioned as to seein-e the desired positioning oi the data fteraily of the sheet-s upon the stack 32, and

parts are then firmly secured in rela- 'r to said rod and said rock shaft. Before ig the clamp 12, the rod 1e is longitudiadjusted in relation to the ciamp so as to ensl'ire the nialiing ot the imprint in the desired position with relation to the forward edge ot such sheets.

in feeders 'for machines of the type to which 'the attachment is to be applied, tl e feed suoli" must be so adjusted as to bring the uppern'iost sheet of' the stack within the range ot a mechanism for separating the topmost sheet from the stack and advancing it in rela- Vtion to other mechanisms (the pickers) not shown and having no particular bearing upon the present invention. During the operation of the machine there is an intermittent readjuscment of the height of' the shelf to compensate for the gradual lowering o the stack with a continued operation oi' the machine, so as to maintain the top ot the stack in apprm-inately the same horizontal. plane at all ti rhere is, hen'- ever, considerable variation as to the plane of the top ot the stack at different times during the operation oiP4 'the machine.

lSince the entent ot downward movement of the head 1G and its type-carrying menibers or digit wheels 17 limited oy the engagement of the enlarged head 3G with the top oi2 the support 13, it is essential to so positien said support 13 by the turning` ofv the rod 1i as to ensure the lowermost position of said head being such as to engage the uppermost sheet upon the 32 when the top ot this stach is on its lowermost plane. This adjustment is necessary to ensure the making of a proper imprint at all times, but does not place any limit-ation as to the operativeness of the printing characters, since impressions may be made 'without the head reaching the lowermost plane 'for which the support 18 is lll) set. lmpressionsmay be made within a considerable range of variation in the elevation Y ot the uppermost sheet of the stack, since the g `anent of the enlarged head 36 with the topot the support 13 is not necessary to the making of an impression. l

In adjusting the heightof the support 13, the eilective'throw of the bell vcrank Lever 25 will be changed so that :following such an adjustment, the collar 33 is disconnected from the link 23, and said lever 2 is osciliated until the upper fork arm 27 is engaged with the stud 24 upon the rod 15'while the enlarged head 36 is engaged with the top et' the support 13.

Vvlhen the parts are in this position said collar 33 may be adi usted to the right, Fig, 1, so to tension the snrfng 35 since itis desirable to have a slight yielding pressure ein erted upon the lever 25 during the makingv of all impressions. rl`he tensioning oic the spring 35 may be very slight, but a cushioning eii'ect in the blow even though the level of the topof the stack 32 be at its lowermost point when makingthe impression, is desirable.

The adjusting sc 1ew 39 is normally so set p as to permit the head to descend slightly belcw'the lowermost point where impressions anJ to he made. he adjustment of the link 23 in relation to the yoke 29 for properly positioning the arms 26 and 2T, results'in an automatic adjustment of the worl ing conditions, tothe height oi the stack.

Yllhen the attachment is. set as described, power may be applied. to the wrapping machine. The positioning of the mechanisms of the feeder of' this machine, preparatory to the picking up and advancing of a sheet from the stack 32, is accompanied by a rocking movement of the shaft 11. This rocking `movement is contra-clockwise, so that the fork 26 to engage the under side of the stud and raise the rod 15 and head 16. rl`his movement is against the tension of the light spring 33, which has a normal tendency to torce t iel rod 15 and the head 16 downwardly. The sprin 34- has a cushioning action in the raising of the head.

During vthe upward movement of the rod 15 and head 16, the topmost sheet is picked up from the stack 32 and advanced by the mechanisms of the feeder toward the mechanism of the wrapping machine', which advance movement continues during the entire upward movement of the head and during the following downward movement thereof. Upon the completion of the contra-clockwise movement of thecrank 31, its direction of movement is reversed and it receives a clockwise movement. During' this clockwise movement' the link 28 rocks the bell crank lever 25, the downward arc of the yoke arm 26 permitting the spring 38 to force the rod 15 and head 16 downwardly. The speed of the downward movement, however, is controlled by the movement of thefyoke armand the bellcrank lever. Toward the limit of this downward movement, the printing characters upon the digit wheels 17 engage, through the ribbon 22, the topmost. sheet of paper upon the stack 32. Immediately following this engagement, the arm 26- passes from its engagement with therstud 24, the other arm 27vimmediately thereafter being engaged with, or striking, the top of this stud so as to apply a staccato blow to the stud and give a sharp printing impact of theprinting elements through the ribbon with the topmost ieet of the stack 32. The engagement of said arm 27 with the stud 24 is under a yielding pressure from the spring 35, which spring yields to compensate for changes ink the height of the stack at the time of the engagement of the ribbon and the type members therewith. f

The yoke 29 has movement about the bearing pin 30 to accommodate the movementsof the link l28 to the arc of movement of the arm ot the bell crank lever- 25 with which itis connected. The head 16 andv rod 15 descend by gravity,

aid-ed to a certain'extent by the spring 38,

25 with those of the head 16 are avoided, and Y a yielding blow during the making of the imprint is secured. By using the springs 34 and 35 disposed upon opposite sides of the block 33, l not only secure a cushioning action Vbeinveen the actuating means for the head 16 and the crank 31 at the end of the downward stroke of said head, lbuta similar action at the limit oi the upward movement thereof upon the `engagement of the head with the support 13. At points intermediate the opposite limits of the movement of said head, the tension of the springs 34 and 35 will automatically be equalized.

The normal tension of each of the springs 34 and 35 is greater than that of the spring 3g. v Y

By the mode of operation above referred to, the effective quantity of movement of the bell crank lever 25 may be varied by different `settings of the machine,notwithstanding that the crank 31 has a iixed quantity of movement with the shaft 11.f l

lVhen mounting aV ribbon spool upon the carrier :19 and 20it is merely necessary to Y lgagement with the cross bars wheels. `The spring retard device ser remove the screw 42 from the hollow shaft 41 of each carrier. As the screw is released, the enlarged portion of the screw passes from the enlargement of the slotted portion. so as to permit the screw to move tlrough the slot as the carrier is moved away from' the di .fes merely as a brakete prevent overrunning of thespool and readily yields to permit the movement of the carrier into or out of eni rEhe ribbon22 is run from the spool upon one carrier, as 20, across the plate 21 and the face of the digit wheels 17, to the spool upon the other carrier 19.

The plate 50, by engagement with the heel 48,1iolds the pa-wl 46 out of engaging' relation to the ratchet wheel of the carrier 20, tl e spring 49 acting'upon the heel 47 moving the-pawl 45 into engaging `relation with the ratchet wheel upon the carrier 19. This is the setting as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. f A l With the downward.movement of the head 16, the carrier member 19 moves away from and out of engaging relation'with the pawl 45.l Uponthe upward move nent of the hea-d, the ratchet tooth of the'wheel of the carrier 19 engages the pa-wl 45 and thus causes the rotation of the carrier to the extent of vone tooth. This operation continues until the diameter of the ribbon upon the spool upon the carrier/19 is sufficiently great to engage the plate 5,6 so that upon the subsequent actuationof the ratchet wheel of the carrier '19, the thrust member 54 will be vmoved toa position with its upper end behind the stud 52.

l/Vith the next downward movement of the head 16, the thrust member 54 passes over said stud by reason of its flexibility, and will -rel main in this position, shown in Figz, so that upon the next upward movement Vof the head it will engage said stud, rock the plate 50 and oscillate the pawl 45 to move it out of its engageable relation with the ratchet wheel upon the carrier'1`9 and ,cause the spring 49 to' rock the pawl 46 into its engageable relation with the ratchet wheel upon the carrier 20.

Illormally, the friction device '51 will resist movement of the plate so as to maintain either pawl 45 or 46 in the vposition in which it is set until said plate 50'has been actuated by one or the other thrust member 54 or 55. The spring 58 normally holds both thrust members out of the operative relation to the studs-52 and 58, the engagement of the heels of said thrust'members with the sides of the head 16 limiting the 'pivotal 'movements thereof when theyv are actuated in a manner to operatively positionthem in rela- 'tion to said studs.

In the embodiment of the invention shown inthe drawings, the'feeding of 'the ribbon occursat the 'limit "of .each upward movement T his condition is shown indotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3.

y using ordinary digit wheels 17, these wheels may be set in any desired manner to 'mpri'nt a code marking which may be 'hanged from day to day so that the date of `he applica-,tion of a wrapper to any package may be definitely determined by anyone fami iar with the coc e. ./"t the same time, however, t-he meaning of the code may be kept secret, Iif desiree. Of course ordinary dater 'wheels Vmay be used, that is, wheels indicating the dierent months of the year, days of the month and the year.

I have hereinbefore explained the setting of the machine for the purpose of locating the imprint upon the sheet in any desired maner.. may be ihis locating of the imprint ely for the purpose of securing convenaccess to the marking, or it may be necessitated by the operations of the feeder in completely removinof a sheet from the top lof the stack This feeding movement involves the picking up of the topmost sheet, its advance to feed rollers and the subsequent feeding of the sheet by these rollers. As the head 16 is raised by the contra-clockwise oscillation of the shaft 11, the mechanisins ofthe feeder are being actuated to pick up the sheet upon which an impression has just been made. During the continued ascent of the head 16, the sheet so picked up is being fed away from the stack, and this feeding movement may continue throughout the maj or portion of the descent of the head. is obvious, however, that before the impression can be made upon the following sheet, the preceding sheet must have been moved to an' extent to expose the portion of the sheet upon which the impression is to be made.

The adjustment of the supporting rod 14 may be relied upon to so position the'support 13 that the sheet being removed from the stack will have passed the printing position before the head 16 reaches the stack upon the succeeding impression. This adjustment, however, may not be desirable. In such cas s, the impressions may be delayed slightly by merely releasing the collar 33 and moving the link 28 to the right, thus increasing the effective stroke of the head as a result of the rocking of the bell crank lever 25. The lost motion connection ai'l'orded by the gap between the forked arms 26 and 27 permits this adjustment, which has to do with the timingof the making' of theimpression in If@ relation to the timing of the delivery of the sheet inits entirety. Y

Itis. not my intention to limit the invention tothe precise details of construction shown in theaccompanying drawings, it being apparent that such maybe varied without' departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. l

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tohave protected by Letters Patent, is

, l; A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a'rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters carried yby said head,

. means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bellcrank lever, alost motion connection between said lever and said rod,fa crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part'of a feeder, and` connections between said -rock shaft and said bell crank lever.

2. A dating attachment for wrapping machinesl embodying therein a suppo-rt positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod,

ff;- 'printing characters carried by said head means supporting and 'feeding an -inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection betweensaid lever and said rod, a crank niember carried by a rock shaft forming a part in saidfsup'port, a head carried by said rod,

printing characters carried by lsaid head, meansisupporting and feedingjan inked ribbon inv relation to said printing characters, ya bell crank lever,.alost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shafty forming a part of a feeder, a yoke pivotally mounted upon said crank member, a link slidably mounted vin the arms of said yoke and pivotally connected with said bell Vcrank lever, a block carried by said linkwithin saidl yoke, and

s'pringsseated between the opposite sides of I said block andthe opposite arms ofsaid yoke.

' 4. AdatingVL attachment for wrapping machines` embodying ytherein asupport positioned above the feed shelf-of the feeder for Y a: wrapping machine, a rod slidablyinounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters Carried Vby said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming apart of a feeder, a yoke pivotally mounted upon said crank member, a link slidably mounted in the arms of said yoke and pivotally connected with said bell crank lever, a block carried by said link within said yoke, springs seated between the opposite sides of said block and the opposite arms of lsaid yoke,

and means adjustably mountingv'said blockl upon said link. v y

5. A dating attachment for wrapping'machines embodying therein a supportpositioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in Vsaid support, aastud carried by said rod,

ra head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means rsupporting and feeding an inkedribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bellfcrank lever having one ofl its arms` forked, the arms of saidv forked arm `being positioned upon, and spaced from, the opposite sides of said stud, a crank member carried by a rock shaftforming a part of a feeder, and connectionsbetween said rock lever. Y

6. A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein aV support positioned above the feed shelf of the yfeeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, af stud carried by said rod, a head carried by said' rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inkedribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank lever having one of its arms forked, the arms of said forked arm being positionedupon, and spaced from, the opposite sides of said stud, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, a link pivotally connected withv said bell crank lever, vmeanscarried by said crank member in which said link isl slidablyy mounted, and resilient means acted upon ,by said last named means and operative upon said link, whereby a variable movement may be imparted to said bell crank lever with -a fixed' movement of said crank member. A

7. A dating attachment for Wrappingmachines embodying therein a supportY positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod .slidably mounted in said support, a stud carried by said rod, a head vcarriedV by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank lever having one of its arms forked, the arms of said forked arm being-positioned upon, and

shaft and said bell crankl kCl) chines embodying therein spaced frein, the oppos'te sides of said st a crank member carried by a rock shaft 'l rniing` a part of a feeder, a yoke pivotally mounted upon said'crank member, a link slidably mounted in the arms of said yoke and pi'votally connected with said bell cranlr lever, a block carried by said link within said yoke, and springs seated between the 'opposite sides of said block and the opposite arms 'of said yoke. y l

8. -A dating;` attachment for wrapping maa support positioned above t-he feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapl'oing machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, a spring having a normal tendency to force said rod and said head toward the feed shelf, prin-tingl characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding' an inked ribben in relation to said printing characte a bell crank lever, a lost motion connes ion between said lever and said rod, a crank meinbe'r carried by a rock shaft formingv a part of a feeder, and vconnections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever.

9. A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a Wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a y'stud carried by said rod, a head carried by said rod, a spring having` a normal tendency to force said rod and said head toward the feed shelf, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank lever having 'one 'of its arms forked, the a i is of said forked arm being positioned upon, and spaced from, the opposite sides of said stud, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming apart of a feeder, a yoke pivotally mounted upon said crank member, alink slidably mounted in the arms of said yoke and pivotally connected with said bell crank lever, a block carried by said link within said yoke, and springs seated between the opposite sides of said block and the opposite arms of said yoke.

l0. A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, means whereby said support may be vertically adjusted, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carriedby said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a lbell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever.

l1. A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a Wrapping, machine, means whereby said support may be vertically adjusted, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a stud carried by said rod, a head carried by said rod, printing, characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation to said printing characters, a bell crank-lever having, one of its arms forked, the arms of said forked arm being' positioned upon, and spaced from, the opposite sides of said stud, acrank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever.

l2. A dating,` attachment for wrapping` inachines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a clamp member adapted to engage a transverse bar of the feeder and be adjustzmle along said bar, a spacer red carried by said clam a and connected with said support, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inked ribbon in relation tov said printing characters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member adjustably mounted upon a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, and connections between said rock` shaft and said bell crank lever.

i 13. A dating attachment for wrapping m'achines embodying therein a supportpositioned abo-ve the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, means whereby said support may be connected with a part of the feeder,4 a spacer rod adjustably mounted in said means and connected with said support, whereby the position of said support in relation to said means may be varied, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing; characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding` an inked ribbon in relation to said print-ing characters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part 'of a. feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell c ank lever.

14. A dating' attachment for Wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder fora wrapping machine, a clamp member adapted to engagea transverse bar of the feet er and be adjustable along said bar, a spacer rod adjust-ably mounted in said clamp and connected with said support, whereby the position of said support in relation to said clamp may be varied, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, means supporting and feeding an inl-:ed ribbon in relation to said printing,- characters, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member adjustably mounted upon a rock shaft forming` a part of a feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell cra-nk lever. 1 c

15. A dating attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the-feed shelf of the feeder for a wrappin g machine, a rod .slidably mounted in sai support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, ribbon spool carriers each includingy a,

ratchet wheel rotatably mounted upon said headvupon opposite sides of saidy printing lation to said ratchets, a bell crank lever, a

lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, acrank member carried by a rock shaft formingfa part of a feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever. v Y s 16. Adating attachment for wrapping machines embodying thereina'vsupport'popawls having `a said'heels, a pivotal bar mounted upon saidv Vpawls iliaving a sitioned above the feed shelf of thefeeder for` a vwrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, ahead carried by l said rod, printing characters carried by said head, ribbon spool carriers each including a ratchet wheel rotatablyv mounted upon said head upon opposite sides of said printing characters, said ratchet wheels having their teeth oppositely set, push pawls pivotally mounted upon said support, each; of said heel, a spring connecting support with its ends in operative relation to said heels, a friction retard device carried by said pivotal bar and engaging said support, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, and connections between 4said rock shaft and said bell c rank lever.

kmy signature to its ratchet wheel and permit the other pawl to move into the operative relation to its ratchet wheel, a bell crank lever, a lost motion connection between said lever and said rod, a crank member carried by a rock shaft forming a part of a feeder, and connections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever. 1

18. A dat-ing attachment for wrapping machines embodying therein a support positioned above the reed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing characters carried by said head, ribbon spool carriers cach including a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted upon said head upon oppositel sides of said printing characters, said ratchet wheels having their teeth oppositely set, push pawls pivotally mounted upon said support, each ofsaid pawls having a heel, a spring connecting said heels, a pivotal bar mounted upon said support with its ends in operative relation to said heels,fa friction retard device carried by said pivotal bar and engaging said support, studs carried by said pivotal bar, yieldable thrustmembers carried by said head, means normally holding said thrust members out ofthe operative relation to said studs,A means carried by each thrust member adapted tol be, actuated by the ribbon upon a spool for positioning one of said thrust members to automatically actuate said bar and reverse'the vdirection of the ribbon feed, a bell cranklevena lost motion connection between said leverand said rod, a crank meinbercarried by a rock shaft forming a partV of a feeder, andconnections between said rock shaft and said bell crank lever. 1' Y In witness whereof this 12th day of May-1930. MAXIMILIAN H. KERN.

17. A dating attachmentfor wrapping ma- Y chines embodying therein a support positioned above the feed shelf of the feeder for a wrapping machine, a rod slidably mounted in said support, a head carried by said rod, printing `characters carried by Vsaid head, ribbon spool carriers each including a ratchet wheelrotatably mounted uponsaid head upon opposite sides of said printing characters, said ratchet wheelshaving their teeth oppositely set, push pawls pivotally mounted upon: said support, eachV of said heel, a spring connecting said heels, a pivotal bar mounted upon said support with its'ends in operative relation to said heels, a friction retard device carried by saidA pivotalbar and enga-ging saidsupport,

I have hereunto affixed x 

